Well, destroying an old regime is one thing, but building a better one after that is usually harder. Just look at what was happening in history with all the revolutions and popular movements. Sometimes it turns into a nightmare, sometimes everything stays the same, only one oppressor replaces another. Or look at what is going on these days for example in Iraq!?!

But you have to make the first step at some point. I hope it all goes for the better.

I also suspect Obama will go down as being one of the best foreign policy presidents in modern US history.

It's possible. That's not even close to being a competitive championship.

Originally Posted by Fordy

I'm not that excited about it as I fear that one tyranny may well replace another

That's my feeling too. But it's always a good day when a dictator falls somewhere on the planet.

...
In a side note, in recent years many democratic leaders shook hands with Gaddafi. I won't forget for instance the personal shame and outrage I felt when he visited my country in 2007, was received by a 200 people delegation mostly composed of business men, and shook hands with our prime minister at the time, Josť Socrates. All in the name of him buying some of our debt. Other notable figures that in recent years did the same include Nicolas Sarkozy, Jose Luis Zapatero (and King Juan Carlos, btw), or Silvio Berlusconi.

If these people had any blood running in their veins, instead of being the hypocrite bastards they must be to win elections, they would feel ashamed of themselves right now. But we aren't that lucky.

Originally Posted by brewbuck:Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

A skillful political balancing act. I believe Gadhafi's regime would not have fallen without NATO help, and it's not clear NATO would have acted without US support, and suffice it to say it would've been disastrous for the U.S. to act alone (after the debacle in Iraq and our generally low standing in the world).

One can only imagine what it'll turn into during the campaign because I'm not sure most Americans really approved of it, just sort of went along for the ride.

A skillful political balancing act. I believe Gadhafi's regime would not have fallen without NATO help, and it's not clear NATO would have acted without US support, and suffice it to say it would've been disastrous for the U.S. to act alone (after the debacle in Iraq and our generally low standing in the world).

One can only imagine what it'll turn into during the campaign because I'm not sure most Americans really approved of it, just sort of went along for the ride.

I was more concerned with European leaders. Missed the adjective there to make it more clear. We are largely responsible for his 40 year rulership. I'm not familar with Obama's history with this man, but their famous handshake that would make Reagan turn on his grave was -- fortunately for Obama -- given on an entire different context. It was during a G8 summit and the "mad dog" was unfortunately the president of the African Union. Obama couldn't have avoided it.

Originally Posted by BobMcGee123

(Side note: My mom's a first generation immigrant (not from the mainland though, she was born on San Miguel)).

Ah. Azores was a prolific immigrant source during the authoritative regime here. I believe it makes for the largest Portuguese community in USA and a sizeable number stayed and took roots. There's nothing like that to demonstrate a success story and nothing sadder than immigrants returning. Do send her my regards.

Originally Posted by brewbuck:Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.